Photographic apparatus



Oct 19. 1943 l. Kn'RosER 2,331,916

rHoToGRAPHIc APPARATUS Filed Dec. 15, 1958 L2 sheets-Sheet 1 25 9F 172 .verz Zar.- Zc 452370537;

fi Am WW/*segs Oct. 19, 1943.. l. KlTRosr-:R

PHoToGRAPHIc APPARATUS Filed Dec. l5, 1958 l2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 19, 1943 PHOTOGRAPHIC APPARATUS Isaac Kitroser, Viroilay. France; vested in the 4 Alien PropertyCustodian Applicaties Deeember 13, 193s, serial No. 245,523

lnelglum December 20, 1937 4 Claims. (Cl. 20o-33) photographic apparatus. The invention is more especially, but not exclusively, concerned with apparatus for use in aerial photography.

The object of the present invention is to provide a control of this type which is better adapted to meet therequirements of practice than those used up to the present time.

According to an essential feature of the present invention, concerning automatically operated photographic apparatus worked by electrical iinpulses, I make use, for producing these impulses in the desired circuit, of a mechanism including the following elements:

On the one hand, a movable member adapted to move along a driving element, such for instance as a screw, against the action of elastic means;

On the other hand, means, preferably adjustM able in position, for uncoupllng said movable member and said driving element, when said movable element comes into contact with said last mentioned means;

And, nally, means,- operative by the movable member, in the course of its return movement, fortemporarily closing the above mentioned circuit, after which said movable member comes back into cooperating engagement with the driving element for repeating the same cycle of operu ations.

Other features of the present invention will result from the following detailed description of some specific embodiments thereof.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafter described, with reference tothe accompanying drawings, given merely by way o f example and in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, with the casing cut. off,`of a mechanism made according to the present invention for producing electrical impulses intended to operate an automatic photographic apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line II--II of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line Ill-'III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a detail of this mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing how the mechaf .nism above referred to cooperates electrically with photographic apparatus proper.

description, I will describe a with a focal-plane shut- In the following photographic apparatus ter, for aerial photography, this apparatus bein intended to be automatically operated through the emission of electric current impulses.

According to the essential feature of the pres ent invention, I use, for emitting the electric current impulse, a mechanism which is essentially constituted by the following elements:

a. A movable member adapted to be displaced, against the action of an elastic system, along a driving element which, in the following description, will be supposed to consist of a screw;

b.. Means, preferably adjustable in position, for disengaging at will said movable member rom said endless screw when said movable member comes into contact with the above mentioned means in the course or its movement along said screw;

c. Means, operative by said movable member in the course of its return movement under the action of the elastic meansfor temporarily ciosn ing said electric circuit, and means for bringing back said endless screw into engagementl with said movable member, whereby the above inem tioned cycle of operation can be repeated once more.

Such a mechanism truly constitutes an automatic system of control for the apparatus. as lons as a rotational movement is transmitted to the endless screw Preferably, the system will be devised in such manner that the duration of the impulse emitted by said mechanism is merely sufficient for making it possible to release the apparatus proper and the starting of the motor which is to ensure, among other operations, the movement of the film and the resetting of the shutter, said apparatus being arranged, as will be more explicitly explained in what follows, in such manner that the action of the motor lasts for the time necessary for carrying out the operation, which time may be, for instance, three seconds approximately, the duration of each impulse being, in this case, say approximately one second.

In order to obtain this result, it is advantageous to use the embodiment of Figs. l to 5, which will now be described in detail:

The essential parts of this mechanism are grouped on a support such as a plate I which is fixed on the aircraft close to the operator's hand,

for instance on a wall 2. The whole of these parts is located behind said wall, advantageously inside a casing 3, whereas the control element or elements of the mechanism are arranged to project on the other side of the wall, that is to say toward the operator.

Plate I supports a motor 4, either electric or not, which is supposed to turn in a continuous manner, said motor being preferably chosen with an excessof power, and being advantageously provided with a regulating brake of the centrifugal type. For instance, as shown by Fig. 5, two shoes 6 are applied against a friction drum by the centrifugal force against the action of a spring 1.

This motor cooperates, through a speed reducing gear 8, 9 and a worm I0, with a rod II, threaded at one of its ends in such manner as to constitute a screw, said rod being arranged at right angles to the axis of said motor and having its non-threaded end journalled in a support I2.

This screw serves to drive a movable device constituted, for instance, by a block I3 slidably mounted ony a rod I4 but angularly fixed with respect thereto. 'Ihis rod I4, which is capable of turning about its axis, carries an elastic system, such for instance as a coil spring I5 which urges the movable member toward the end of the screw II. A

Block I3 is provided, on the side thereof, with r a finger I6 capable, according to the position of rod I4 about its axis, either of being held apart from screw II, or, on the contrary, of engaging in the threads thereof. Preferably, these threads are of a longitudinal section analogous to the shape of saw teeth, so as to facilitate the engagement of finger I6 therewith in the direction of its forward movement against the action of spring I5.

Elastic means are provided for keeping rod I4 in either of the angular positions thereof corresponding respectively to the case in which finger I6 is driven by screw I I and to the case in which said finger is held apart from said screw.

Thesemeans may, for instance, be made as follows:

Rod I4 carries an arm fixed on the end thereof, and a snap action spring I8 is interposed between the end of said arm and the end I9' of a bell crank lever I9.

'I'he other end I9" of said lever carries an abutment 2o with which is adapted to cooperate a piece 2| rigid with the movable member I3, during the return stroke thereof, so as to produce a pivoting of lever I9 such that spring I8 comes into a position in which it tends to bring back rfinger I6 into contact with screw |I, this pivoting of lever I9 taking place against the action of a spring 22.

I provide means for releasing the movable member I3, ata movable point of its stroke, through a kind of inclined surface 23 capable of coacting with a lug 24 carried by block I3. This inclined surface is carried by a member capable of moving along screw I I, for instance under the action of a rack 25 coacting with a pinion 26 capable of being operated by means of a suitable member, such for instance as a knob 21 preferably movable along a dial indicating the impulse frequencies corresponding to different successive positions of inclined surface 23.

Finally, I provide, in the circuit through which the impulses intended to operate the photographic apparatus are to be sent, a circuit breaking device some elements of which are arranged across the return path of the movable device. 'I'his circuit breaking device is adapted to be normally open and the sliding member I3 is to close it temporarily, for a time which has been supposed, by way of example, to be about one second.

This circuit breaking device is, for instance, made as follows:

I employ an oscillating circuit breaker one of the blades 28 of which is secured to a fixed support 29 while the other blade 30 is fitted'to the end of a pivoting piece 3| mounted on a spindle 32 and subjected to the action of a spring 33 which tends to move blades 28 and 30 away from each other.

Block I3 coacts with the other end of'pivoting piece 3|, the latter being arranged in such manner that, when said block occupies the angular position for which finger I6 is out of contact with screw I I, it can engage under the end in question, and then compel'said end to move down during the swinging movement of rod I4 which brings back said finger I6 into contact with said screw, the contact remaining established until block I3, which is then driven by screw II, releases pivoting piece 3|, which then comes back into circuit breaking position under the action of spring 33.

The mechanism above described permits of emitting, at an adjustable rate, a series of electrical impulses into the control circuit of the photographic apparatus.

I will now describe the operation of such a device:

It will be supposed that movable member I3 is in its position shown by Figs. 1 and 2, that is to say in a position for which finger I6 is in engagement with the end of screw I I. It will be readily understood that, under the driving action of said screw, said movable member I3 is displaced along rod I4, compressing spring I5 in the course of its movement.

When lug 24 comes into contact with inclined surface 23, the latter will produce the swinging movement of block I3 and finger I6 will be moved away from screw II. Rod I4 and arm Il, which are angularly rigid with block I3, undergo the same swinging displacement and snap action spring I8, after having moved past its neutral position, keeps finger I6 in a position away from screw II. Said block I3, on which the pressure of spring I5 is acting, then moves freely in the backward direction and comes to engage under the free end of pivoting piece 3|.

Near the end of the movement of block I3, piece 2| coacts with abutment 20 for producing the swinging movement of lever I9 against the action of spring 22. This swinging movement will modify the direction of the snap action spring I8, which will bring back the whole of arm I'|, rod I4, and block I3 into the angular position for which finger I6 is in mesh with the end of screw II. In the course of the displacement of these parts, block I3 compels the end of pivoting piece 3| to move in a downward direction and blades 28 and 30 come into contact with each other, against the action of spring 33, which has the effect of permitting the flow of an electric current through the control circuit of the photographic apparatus. This current fiows as long as pivoting piece 3| is subjected to the pressure exerted thereon by block I3. The latter, being again connected with screw II, will resume its forward movement, piece 2|, accordingly, will cease to push back abutment 20, and bell crank lever I9 will return to its initial position under the action of spring 22 (position in which the snap action spring I8 still keeps finger I6 in engagement with screw II). After a forward displacement of nger I6 corresponding to a few threads of screw II, the end of swinging member 3| escapes from under said block and the contact is broken.

i elapsing between two successive impulses, it is sufficient to displace inclined surface 23 by means of control knob 21, which varies the period of time for which the movable member is driven by screw Il.

The photographic apparatus proper can be made, as a whole, in any suitable conventional manner, and in particular, as described in the prior patents above referred to, in such manner that the electrical impulses in question are caused to act upon a clutch capable of temporarily coupling together the various parts to be driven and a motor rotating in a continuous manner.

According to another embodiment, which will now be described, means are provided for causlng the electrical impulses periodically to close the feed circuit of an electric motor coupled in a permanent manner to the parts to be driven.

' This operation can be obtained in a particularly simple manner with the arrangement diagrammathically shown by Fig. 6. In this embodiment of the invention, contact 28, 30 is inserted in the energizing circuit e of an electro-magnet 34 the armature 35 of which, when it is attracted by said electro-magnet, closes a contact 36 inserted in series in the feed circuit E of a motor 3T, Means, not shown in this iigure, are further provided for causing the period for which circuit E is closed to be longer than the period of time for which circuit e is closed.

What I claim is:

1. In a photographic apparatus having an electric circuit to be periodically closed, the combination of a frame, an endless screw journalled in said frame, a motor for driving said screw, a shaft supported by said frame parallel to said screw, an element slidable along said shaft and pivotable about the axis thereof, adapted to engage said screw so as to be driven by it in one direction, means for elastically opposing the movement oi said element along said shaft in said direction, snap action means for bringing and keeping said element out of engagement with said screw, an inclined member, adjustably carried by said frame, adapted to cooperate with said element in the course of its forward stroke for bringing said snap action means into play, means, operative by said element, for temporarily closing said circuit. and means for bringing back said element into engagementwith said screw at the end of said backward stroke.

2. Apparatus for controlling current impulses for control of a photographic apparatus, comprising circuit making and breaking means, a rotatably mounted rod, a member slidably and non-rotatably mounted on said rod, a threaded spindle parallel with said rod, a tooth on said member engageable with the threads of said spindle, means to rotate said spindle continuously at constant speed in one direction, whereby to move said member in one direction when the tooth is engaged with the spindle threads, means operated by movement of said member during one portion of its movement in'such direction to operate said circuit making and breaking means, means to turn said rod and member to disengage the tooth from the spindle threads during a dif-l ferent portion of its movement in such direction, spring means to move said member in the opposite direction when so disengaged, and means operable at the end of the movement of said member in such opposite direction to turn the rod and member to reengage the tooth with the spindle threads, whereby to vary thereby the time between operations of said first means while preserving the length of each operation thereof constant.

3. In apparatus as claimed in claim 2, said first rod and member turning means comprising an inclined surface mounted in the path of said member for adjustment in a direction parallel to said rod and spindle.

4. In apparatus as claimed in claim 2, said circuit making and breaking means including a part located in the path of the member during its last turning movement and movable thereby to make the circuit, said member during its movement in said first direction moving out of engagement with said part to open the circuit.

ISAAC KI'I'ROSER.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent Non October 19 ISAAC KITRosER. i

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: In the drawings, Sheet 2, Figure 46 as shown below should appear as a part of the patent HIIIIP -and that 'the said Letters Patent should b e read with this correction therein that the same .may conform tothe record of the case in the' Patent Office.

Signed andvsealed this 15th day`of January, A. D. 191%.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) First Assistant Conmissioner of Patents.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,551,916. October 19, 1914.5.

vISAAC KITRosER. A t

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: In the drawings, Sheet 2, Figure 6 as shown below should appear. as a part of the patent filme and that 'the said Letters Patent shouid be read with this correction there- .inl that the same may conform to 'the record of the case in then Patent Office.

Signed end sealed this 15th dayof January, A. D. 191;6.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) First Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

